Yell has found a new chief executive, but it looks like a tough job since the debt laden directories group has also reported another decline in revenues at the same time.

First half revenues fell 9% to £896m, with earnings down 11.4% to £263.2m. It expects third quarter revenue to be down 12% at constant exchange rates. And fourth quarter organic growth is not likely to show any improvement on the third quarter guidance, it added. Outgoing chief executive John Condron said:

Our revenues are directly related to the confidence small businesses feel, and small businesses continue to see little evidence of economic recovery, hence their reluctance to invest in marketing.

Condron announced his departure in May (as did the company's finance director) and the man replacing him and tasked with turning Yell round is Michael Pocock, formerly of Cisco and Polaroid. Analysts at Numis said they did not underestimate the structural, cyclical and financial challenges facing the new incumbent. They said:

Yell remains our least preferred stock in the sector and has to be seen as a high risk, speculative investment.

Meanwhile Richard Curr, head of dealing at Prime Markets, repeated his sell recommendation on the business:

The recent history of Yell amounts to a series of trading statements punctuated with the odd bright spot, but with an overall impression of a company in terminal decline. The business is fundamentally rooted in print, where the trend is moving inexorably toward online and mobile solutions. The Yell online offering seems to have made little impact alongside the likes of Google, and barring a major shift in habits, this looks set to continue. The statement today is once again another chapter in Yell's attempts to manage a huge debt pile (£2.9bn) while trying to convince shareholders that once the recovery arrives, fortunes will change. Prime Markets think otherwise..

The company's shares have dropped 1.96p to 13.6p, a near 13% decline which makes it the biggest faller in the FTSE 250.